Fewer concerned about Gulf seafood, survey shows

Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 6:07 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 6:07 p.m.

Fewer people say the BP oil spill is keeping them away from Gulf seafood, according to a consumer survey released by a Gulf Coast marketing group.

More than 70 percent of consumers said the oil spill is not affecting their taste for Gulf seafood, according to a nationwide study commissioned by the Gulf Seafood Marketing Coalition. It's a group of seafood and tourism officials from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, formed after the oil spill to showcase Gulf seafood.

That's significantly up from immediately after the oil spill, when as few as 30 percent of people said the oil spill didn't affect their perception of Gulf seafood.

A number of those respondents believed the spill scare is over, and said it had no effect on their willingness to eat Gulf seafood, according to the survey.

“Immediately after the spill there were significant concerns,” said Mike Voisin, owner of Motivatit Seafood in Houma and chairman of the Gulf Seafood Marketing Coalition. “Those concerns still exist, but people are saying, ‘Provide it to us. We're ready to eat it.'”

After the oil spill, officials with the seafood industry were concerned that post-spill fears would drive away consumers from Gulf seafood, viewing it as tainted or toxic.

A huge government effort has been underway to test seafood for oil toxins, with BP committing $18 million for three years of seafood testing. Independent scientific studies are also being done to look into the safety of seafood.

The company also gave Louisiana $30 million to market state seafood after the spill.

The survey also found consumers didn't view Gulf seafood as a “premium” seafood. Fifty-two percent of those polled rated it is “excellent” or “very good,” but other regional seafood ranked higher. Eighty-seven percent of consumers polled gave Alaskan seafood the highest quality rating. Maine and the northeastern Atlantic both ranked above 80 percent for high quality, and seafood from the Pacific ranked at 72 percent.

The Gulf did rank above farm raised seafood and seafood from the Great Lakes.

Gulf coast residents were more likely to recommend Gulf seafood to a friend, with 44 percent of residents saying they would do so.

Only 18 percent of residents outside the region would recommend Gulf seafood to others. Those unlikely to recommend Gulf seafood still had some concerns about the spill, according to the survey.

While many are ready to put the oil spill behind them and embrace Gulf seafood, Voisin said, there's still a lot of hesitancy outside the Gulf states. Here, “people can get into the water, see it and touch it,” to see that it's clean, Voisin said.

Areas farthest from the oil spill, including the West Coast and the Northeast, still saw problems with Gulf seafood.

David Chauvin, owner of two Terrebonne-based shrimp companies, said that he's fielding fewer questions about Gulf seafood.

But the perception that seafood was tainted after the spill has still created lasting problems for those in the seafood industry.

“Gulf seafood used to be premium,” Chauvin said. “People would request it. Now they're willing to take the cheaper shrimp from foreign countries like Indonesia and Ecuador.”

One of the big problems facing Gulf seafood right now is getting it back into the marketplace, Voisin said.

During the spill, when Gulf seafood wasn't available, many suppliers turned to seafood from other regions, and haven't wanted to buy up as much Gulf product as they did before the spill.

“Those people are saying, ‘We got in trouble with Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, the oil spill and the river flood.' These are events that created shortages,” Voisin said. “I'm going to keep this product that I've got.”

That means suppliers have to discount Gulf seafood to get shelf space back, and that means low prices for fishermen.

“We are trying to build the brand back so we can get to that consumer who now wants the product,” Voisin said.

Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

<p>Fewer people say the BP oil spill is keeping them away from Gulf seafood, according to a consumer survey released by a Gulf Coast marketing group.</p><p>More than 70 percent of consumers said the oil spill is not affecting their taste for Gulf seafood, according to a nationwide study commissioned by the Gulf Seafood Marketing Coalition. It's a group of seafood and tourism officials from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, formed after the oil spill to showcase Gulf seafood.</p><p>That's significantly up from immediately after the oil spill, when as few as 30 percent of people said the oil spill didn't affect their perception of Gulf seafood.</p><p>A number of those respondents believed the spill scare is over, and said it had no effect on their willingness to eat Gulf seafood, according to the survey.</p><p>“Immediately after the spill there were significant concerns,” said Mike Voisin, owner of Motivatit Seafood in Houma and chairman of the Gulf Seafood Marketing Coalition. “Those concerns still exist, but people are saying, 'Provide it to us. We're ready to eat it.'”</p><p>After the oil spill, officials with the seafood industry were concerned that post-spill fears would drive away consumers from Gulf seafood, viewing it as tainted or toxic. </p><p>A huge government effort has been underway to test seafood for oil toxins, with BP committing $18 million for three years of seafood testing. Independent scientific studies are also being done to look into the safety of seafood.</p><p>The company also gave Louisiana $30 million to market state seafood after the spill.</p><p>The survey also found consumers didn't view Gulf seafood as a “premium” seafood. Fifty-two percent of those polled rated it is “excellent” or “very good,” but other regional seafood ranked higher. Eighty-seven percent of consumers polled gave Alaskan seafood the highest quality rating. Maine and the northeastern Atlantic both ranked above 80 percent for high quality, and seafood from the Pacific ranked at 72 percent.</p><p>The Gulf did rank above farm raised seafood and seafood from the Great Lakes.</p><p>Gulf coast residents were more likely to recommend Gulf seafood to a friend, with 44 percent of residents saying they would do so.</p><p>Only 18 percent of residents outside the region would recommend Gulf seafood to others. Those unlikely to recommend Gulf seafood still had some concerns about the spill, according to the survey.</p><p>While many are ready to put the oil spill behind them and embrace Gulf seafood, Voisin said, there's still a lot of hesitancy outside the Gulf states. Here, “people can get into the water, see it and touch it,” to see that it's clean, Voisin said.</p><p>Areas farthest from the oil spill, including the West Coast and the Northeast, still saw problems with Gulf seafood.</p><p>David Chauvin, owner of two Terrebonne-based shrimp companies, said that he's fielding fewer questions about Gulf seafood.</p><p>But the perception that seafood was tainted after the spill has still created lasting problems for those in the seafood industry.</p><p>“Gulf seafood used to be premium,” Chauvin said. “People would request it. Now they're willing to take the cheaper shrimp from foreign countries like Indonesia and Ecuador.”</p><p>One of the big problems facing Gulf seafood right now is getting it back into the marketplace, Voisin said.</p><p>During the spill, when Gulf seafood wasn't available, many suppliers turned to seafood from other regions, and haven't wanted to buy up as much Gulf product as they did before the spill.</p><p>“Those people are saying, 'We got in trouble with Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, the oil spill and the river flood.' These are events that created shortages,” Voisin said. “I'm going to keep this product that I've got.”</p><p>That means suppliers have to discount Gulf seafood to get shelf space back, and that means low prices for fishermen.</p><p>“We are trying to build the brand back so we can get to that consumer who now wants the product,” Voisin said.</p><p>Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.</p>